GIRLS HOOP
SCOUT
A site dedicated to promoting girls high school
basketball throughout the PLANET
Leslie Andersen operates Womensbasketball-in-France.com and is considered one of the top
experts on women's basketball in Europe. I had the chance to visit with her after returning from
Europe last summer. I asked her if she would provide me her list of who she felt were the top
junior female talent in Europe. It is quite an impressive list and should be very useful to colleges
in or wanting to get in the overseas market for players. If we can be of any help to you at
girlshoopscout do not hesitate to contact us.


                    

            Leslie's Dozen To Watch - By Leslie Andersen

The big questions facing US colleges when looking at female overseas students coming
over to play college basketball are:

Can they really play basketball?

What will they bring to their team that they do not already have or can find locally?

What is the motivation for these young players to come over to the United States?

I was asked similar questions by John Jordon earlier in the year and decided to
investigate the topic a little further with the aim of identifying 12 players who would fit
into the US college profile.

The chosen 12 players would be interchangeable if on one team. Although it was not a
criteria for all the players mentioned they all have had the honour of playing basketball
for their national federations in international competitions.

I have seen all the players play basketball outside the national structure, which has
enabled me to build a profile with the exception of the Australian one. Some of the
named players may not be considered to be the best players in their teams but they all
have the mentality required to make a successful transition to US college basketball.

All the young ladies listed were involved in regional selection teams at U15 level and
lower before joining national team structures. This implies that they have all had
experience of playing with a variety of coaches and have had to cope with different
demands in their short careers.

All the players can play basketball and are good athletes. They have at least two assets
on the basketball field that colleges will find interesting. In addition to basketball many of
the players participate in other sports and have further interests outside basketball.

The players presented are listed with squad numbers 4 to 15 based on their position,
with the lower numbers being the guards and higher numbers being the centres.

4: Katrin Chiemeka (1-2, 1:68, Great Britain, 91) has been a member of the England
U16 and U18 international side for three seasons and was voted England U16 player of
the year in 2007. She is in fact a product of the French basketball system.

Katrin has the ability to shoot with either hand. Her large wingspan enables her to cover
more space on the floor. She can play any position on the court when required.
However she plays positions 1-2 more and is an excellent passer of the ball, has a good
pair of hands and is an excellent reader of the game. Katrin shoots well from down-town
and has a keen eye for offensive rebounds. She is extremely fit and a hard defender
(hustler). She led her country in scoring this summer with 14.4 ppg.

5: Svenja Brunckhorst (2-3, 1:76, Germany, 91) has been with TSV 1860 Wasserburg
in Germany since 2002 and has been involved with the German U16 and U18 team for
three seasons. She also has a sound track record in youth competitions in Germany.

Svenja is a shooting guard by nature but often plays the point-guard position for
national teams. She is quick off the mark that gives her the slight advantage as she like
to drive to the basket. She is good in the air (vertical lift), which enables her to put in
difficult jump shots. She is extremely difficult to guard and her off-the-ball plays are
interesting to watch. She led her county in assists with 2.9 pg.

6: Nika Baric (1-2, 1:69, Slovenia, 92) made her full international début for Slovenia this
summer during the EuroBasket Divison B qualifiers. She played her first European
Championship Division B in the summer of 2005 when she was 12 years old. She was
the MVP in 2007 for the U16 championship and again this summer in the U18
championship. There are no awards she has not won in her country for basketball, yet
she only turned 16 in September.

Nika is a player that is used to carry her team. However this summer she demonstrated
her qualities as a team player because she did not try to take teams on by herself.
Certain maturity has now entered into her game. She has excellent hands and can
shoot from anywhere. Although she runs the point position she also showed that she
could be very effective playing off-point. She hit 31-of-33 free-throws this summer and
still managed to dish out 6.6 assists per game while scoring almost 17.8 ppg.

7: Cleopatra Forsman-Goga (2-3, 1:78, Sweden, 91) is a player that is just getting
better. She led her country this summer in the U18 European Championship Women
Division A with 18.1 ppg. She also led her side in rebounds, steals and blocks with 10.6
and 2.3 pg. This is also her third season in the national team. She was a member of the
all tournament team in 2006 as Sweden won the U16 European Division B title in 2006
and she was nominated again this summer.

Cleopatra is another player that can play in any position on the court but tends to do
best when playing in the small forward role. She is in a habit of hitting period-ending
shots from down-town and has a nice hook shot. Her jumping has improved over the
last season and as a result her shooting percentage has gone up. She is quick and
mobile.

8: Aurime Rinkeviciute (2-3, 1:79, Lithuania, 90) first played for Lithuania at the age of
14 in 2004. In the following years 2005, 2006 and 2007 Aurime played in two summer
youth tournaments. She has won numerous national awards and this summer was the
captain of the U18 team. She was also awarded the 2008 MVP title in the U18 European
championship women division A. Furthermore she made her début for the senior
national team during the Eurobasket 2009 qualifiers.

Aurime finished second in the scoring list at last summer's U18 championship with 20.1
ppg. She also picked up 7.5 defensive rebounds a game. Although she plays in the
position of point guard for the national team she is much more comfortable playing in
the position of shooting guard or small forward. She is a pure shooter and is not afraid
to shoot from beyond the arc. She also has won many three-point shooting competitions.

9: Diandra Tchatchouang (2-3-4, 1:87, France, 91) first played for France with the 1989
generation when she was just 14 in 2005. At that time she played as a pivot. Since then
she has developed her skills and can now play all the positions on the court. She was
the MVP in 2007 during the U16 European championship that France won while in 2006
Diandra was a member of the all tournament team. She was also a member of the U18
European championship all tournament team this summer. She was top for France in
points with 15.1 ppg and blocks with 2 pg. She has won all possible honours in French
Basketball and is in her final year at the French Basketball Academy INSEP.

Her movement around the high post makes her hard to keep out of the paint. Diandra
has developed a steady mid-distance jump shot but is not afraid to shoot from the
3-point line and her timing for block shots is good.

10: Sabine Niedola (3-4, 1:82, Latvia, 91) started playing with the youth national team in
2006. This summer was busy for her as she played for Latvia in the U20 European
division A championship in which she finished top of the rebounding stats with 17.5 ppg.
She then played in the U18 division B championship which Latvia won.

Sabine was almost unstoppable in the paint as she made 70 percent of her shots. She
also compiled 4 double-double and made the all tournament team. During the semi-final
and final, she also gave a demonstration of her mid-range jump shot. She is very quick
to get down the floor and has a safe pair of hands which makes her very effective on
the fast breaks. Sabine is one of the best rebounders in her age group in Europe and
has a good vertical lift. With her good positioning she is able to beat much taller players
to the boards at both ends of the court and her strength carries her through.

11: Gretel Tippett (4-5, 1:91, Australia, 93) is the youngest member in this list and
based on her current form is a player for the future. She was in France this summer with
the Australian U19 team as part of their preparation of the U19 world championships in
2009. She left a lasting impression for all those that saw her play.

Her rebounding skills are good but her block stopping is more impressive. Gretel is very
quick up and down the court and is solid in attack and defence. She has already
entered the Australian Basketball Academy AIS.

12: Jana Raman (3-4-5, 1:86, Belgium, 91) played for Belgium at the U21 world
championships in 2007 and has been involved in the youth international scene for the
last three summers. She is a player that can actually play any position on the court.

Although she plays centre for the national team she is more comfortable playing in the
positions of small forward and power forward. Jana is very dangerous in the paint and is
also a steady shooter from beyond the arc. She reads the game well and can play off
either hand. She led her country in scoring and rebounds with 15.6 and 9.1 pg.

13 Allison Vernerey (5, 1:94, France, 91) has been involved with the French U16 and
U18 teams for three seasons and last year she captained the U16 team to the
European title in Division A. She was also a member of the all tournament team. She is
a left-handed shooter and uses her long arms to make interceptions.

Allison is developing into an excellent low post player, she is quick on her feet and has
a solid reverse spin. She tends to draw fouls without giving too many away. She is also
dangerous around the baseline and reads the game very well. She is a left-handed
shooter and uses her long arms to make interceptions. This summer she was outscored
by Diandra Tchatchouang but still scored 12.1 ppg and finished the championship with
9.1 rebounds per match.

14: Ol'Ha Maznichenko (4-5, 1:88, Ukraine, 91) has been involved in youth international
basketball for Ukraine for three seasons and stepped up this year to become the team
leader on the court because Olesya Malashenko was handicapped.

She has always been a regular scorer and is good on the offensive boards. However
during the last year she improved her shooting technique and as a resulted has added
3-point shooting to her repertoire. Ol'Ha is a hard working player that is good in
anything she does. She was a leading point scorer at the last U18 European
championship women division A with 21.1 ppg.

15: Elisabeth Pavel (5, 1:91 Romania, 90) has been involved with youth basketball for
Romania since 2004 and has played in all age groups. She has won numerous awards
and has been a member of various all tournament teams.

Elisabeth has developed into a true centre. She alternates between the low and high
post with ease and is a good rebounder. She can shoot from anywhere in the paint. She
has worked on her positioning under the board in the last season and has become
more physical. She is not a player that allows opponents to dominate her. She also has
a nice reverse lay-up move.